Rs 16,500 crore contracts, zero data: Rahul Gandhi questions Centre on Dalit, Adivasi share

The Centre has told Parliament that it does not maintain data on the share of public works contracts, worth around Rs 16,500 crore, awarded to Dalit, Adivasi and OBC entrepreneurs in the past year, prompting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday to question the transparency and inclusiveness of government spending.

Raising the issue on social media, Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said he had sought a clear break-up of beneficiaries from marginalised communities in large public works tenders.

“The answer was extremely concerning, the government does not keep any such data,” he said.

The response assumes significance in light of the Centre’s public procurement policy, which mandates that 25 per cent of purchases be sourced from micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), with 4 per cent earmarked for enterprises owned by Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. However, the government clarified that this provision is not mandatory for public works contracts, which are typically among the largest and most profitable government tenders.

This creates a gap between policy intent and implementation, particularly in infrastructure and construction projects where contract values run high and participation is limited to fewer players.

Gandhi argued that the absence of such data is not merely an administrative issue but raises broader concerns about equitable access. He questioned why Bahujan entrepreneurs remain largely invisible in the country’s biggest public contracts.

In its written reply, the government said public works contracts are awarded through open tendering processes and that no centralised database is kept on the social category of contractors.